Planned Parenthood is gearing up for a fight

Activists supporting Planned Parenthood rally against Donald Trump across the street from the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on October 18.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In the days after Donald Trump was elected president, people packed Planned Parenthood's offices across the US in hastily scheduled meetings to figure out what to do next.

Republicans will soon control both Congress and the presidency, with power to appoint at least one new Supreme Court justice, and they are poised to make sweeping changes to Americans' everyday lives, particularly affecting women's healthcare.

Since the election, more than 315,000 people have donated to Planned Parenthood — including 82,000 in Vice President-elect Mike Pence's name so he would receive a personal notification each time.

And women have raced to get IUD birth control that could outlast Trump's term as president.

The GOP party platform outlines its firm stance against abortion, Trump has said he wants to appoint Supreme Court justices to overturn women's right to an abortion under Roe v. Wade, and Pence has enacted some of the strictest legislation against abortion in the country as the governor of Indiana.

With new Congress in session, Planned Parenthood gears up for a fight

Planned Parenthood announced Thursday that it was launching a national campaign for people to show their support for the nation's largest reproductive healthcare provider, with 300 events planned across 47 states and 150 cities in the coming weeks, ranging from rallies and phone banks to meetings with legislators.

Kelley Robinson, the deputy national organizing director for Planned Parenthood who is leading the effort, said the organization was "ready for the fight."

"No matter what happens in this political landscape, we're always going to be there taking care of our folks, taking care of our patients and the communities that we serve," Robinson told Business Insider. "That's what we stand for. I think in moments like this, in times of challenge and crisis, we lean back into who we are — quality healthcare providers and members of our communities."

What it's fighting for

Planned Parenthood

The campaign is focusing on keeping Republicans in Congress from gutting the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare law more commonly known as Obamacare, and from passing legislation to "defund" Planned Parenthood. The Obamacare battle on the Hill began Tuesday, when the new Congress took over, with Republicans making their case for repealing and replacing the ACA and Democrats arguing to save it.

While politicians have popularized the term "defunding" when talking about stripping federal funds for Planned Parenthood, the group's political communications director, Erica Sackin, said this is misleading.

"There's no line item in the budget for Planned Parenthood," Sackin told Business Insider. "We're not funded through the federal budget bill."

Planned Parenthood health centers serve 2.5 million people each year, nearly two-thirds of whom rely on public programs like Medicaid to pay for their care. When lawmakers pass bills to "defund" the organization, (as many states have), those patients then have to pay for healthcare at Planned Parenthood out of pocket.

So while it may seem as if "defunding" Planned Parenthood is a way to prevent abortions, Robinson said, "all that is is code for blocking people's access to getting the care that they need," like cancer screenings.

Despite the long fight ahead, Robinson said she felt hopeful that Planned Parenthood would ultimately win.

"The work that we've done over the last few years to build our grassroots power has been in service of being able to provide healthcare to people who need it," she said. "Elections are nothing but a bump in the road. The work that we're doing at Planned Parenthood and the power that we've built is going to last longer — no matter who's in office at any level."